Creekside’s Charlie Hipp wins individual title with a 9-under 63
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- Ponte Vedra High School won the St. Johns County boys golf championship with a record-setting team score.
- Creekside junior Charlie Hipp shot a 9-under 63 to claim the individual county title.
- The 20th St. Augustine Amateur tournament is scheduled for December, with proceeds benefiting First Tee-North Florida.
The top performers in the St. Johns County boys high school championship on Sept. 17 knocked down flags with abandon at the Slammer & Squire.
And after finishing second to Beachside in two 18-hole events this season, Ponte Vedra asserted itself and reclaimed the county championship the Barracudas won last year.
The low four scorers for the Sharks finished among the top 10 with under-par scores on the way to a 10-shot victory over Beachside at 20-under-par 268. It was a school record team score for the 10-time state champions.
Senior Cooper Franklin led the Sharks with a bogey-free 64, with birdies on five of six holes on the front nine.
But that wasn’t enough to win the individual title. That was Creekside junior Charlie Hipp, who blitzed the front nine with a 6-under 30 and went on to post a 9-under 63, with a bogey on the final hole. Hipp birdied four of his first six holes and then made four in a row at Nos. 8, 9, 10 and 11.
The Sharks locked up the team title when senior Noah Ochob shot a bogey-free 66 to finish in a tie for fourth, junior Jake Mason tied for sixth with a 67 and junior James Nagle added a 71 to finish solo ninth.
Beachside (10-under) was led by senior Jonah Nacional (66 with no bogeys), freshman Christopher Grota (70) and junior Jaspreet Kondal (70), who tied for seventh.
Ambrose Kinnare of Tocoi Creek matched Franklin’s 64, with birdies on six of his first eight holes.
Thirteen players shot par-72 or lower. Tocoi Creek finished third at 6-under and Creekside was fourth at 7-over.
St. Augustine Amateur enters third decade
The St. Augustine Amateur, launched in 2004 by former Flagler College coach Jay Jennison, will be played for the 20th time Dec. 5-7 at the St. Johns Golf Course in Elkton, with another elite amateur field expected.
Justin Sui won the 2024 tournament by one shot over former University of North Florida and Menendez High star Jason Duff, who was playing on his home course. Sui went on to win the Michigan Amateur this summer.
The net proceeds from the tournament will directly benefit First Tee-North Florida. The tournament raised $25,000 last year and has donated about $500,000 to First Tee since its inaugural playing, won by Nease graduate and former UNF and University of Florida player Tyler Brown.
Other past winners include future professionals Peter Uihlein, Zach Sucher, Blayne Barber, A.J. Crouch, Jack Maguire and Samuel Anderson.
The tournament is open to the public. Tee times off both sides will be between 8:30-10:30, depending on the weather.
Lily Wachter has won FJT events in three age groups
Lily Wachter of St. Augustine played her last six holes at 1-under with no bogeys to win the 16-18 Florida Junior Tour Eagle Creek Open by two shots over Darci Wagner of Vero Beach, at the Eagle Creek Country Club in Naples. Wachter finished at 1-over 145 with a final-round 71.
It marked the third FJT age group victory for Wachter. She previously won tournaments in the 9-12 and 13-15 age groups, and despite still being only 13 years old, moved up in the Eagle Creek event for post her second top 10 finish in a 16-18 tournament.
Wachter has made 16 FJT starts in two years and has 12 top 10s, nine top-fives and five victories.
Area teams post high finishes in FSGA Senior event
Steve Carter of St. Augustine and Steve Albright of Ocala led five area twosomes among the top 10 in the Florida State Golf Association Senior Four-Ball Championship at the Stillwater Golf and Country Club.
Carter and Albright shot 9-under 135, seven shots behind winners Mike Finster of Tampa and Brian Keenan of St. Petersburg. They won for the second year in a row.
Steve Horner and Jeff Kaufman of Ponte Vedra Beach (135) finished solo eighth. Tying for 10th (138) were Bob Hanneken of St. Augustine and Tim Cobb of St. Johns; Richard Ames of Orange Park and Ken Arsenault of Jacksonville; and Chuck Kirk of Middleburg and Larry Smith of St. Augustine.
Bolles, Episcopal match up
The Bolles and Episcopal boys golf teams played a rare format in their dual match on Sept. 16 at the San Jose Country Club. Players earned one point for winning the front nine, one for the back nine and one for all 18 holes.
Bolles won 16.5-13.5.
The match results:
- Match 1: Aubrey Fellows (E) d. Brendan Walrath (B) 2-1.
- Match 2: Baker Eller (E) tied Neal Kuthiala (B) 1.5-1.5.
- Match 3: Bennett Laconte (B) d. Brody Tran (E) 3-0.
- Match 4: Dylan Tran (E) tied Nico Vasto (B) 1.5-1.5.
- Match 5: Kelly Day (B) d. Landon Pittman (E) 2-1.
- Match 6: Dylan Nelson (B) d. Luke Stover (E) 2-1.
- Match 7: Liam Eliasson (E) d. Teigen Kornick (B) 3-0.
- Match 8: Bo Farrar (B) d. George Robards (E) 2.5-0.5.
- Match 9: Krish Choksi (B) d. Enzo Paez (E) 3-0.
- Match 10: Ethan Eliasson (E) d. Payne Allen (B) 3-0.
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